Why is it called Forbidden?
by Sapphire7777
Summary: Matthew Williams is the runaway prince of the Fae. Lovina Vargas is a human that just so happens to stumble upon him. Despite the racism and enslavement that most humans tend to force on the Fae, will Matthew be able to give Lovina a chance before he has to go back to the place he fears the most?
1. Lovina

**Author's Note:** I can't believe I actually sat down and managed to start converting one of my favorite RPs into a fanfic. O.O It was a bit hard at first, trying to add more details and making it into one point of view instead of two, but I think I pulled off...somewhat well? I don't know. xD Anyway, a ton of credit goes to **AWESOME11**, who was my epic Lovina roleplayer. C: Seriously, I love you girl! I really enjoyed this story, so I wanted to share it with the world! I hope you enjoy it, and feel free to give constructive critiscm! I really need it! But anyway, enough of that! I'm not perfect, so I make mistakes! If you see I make a spelling or grammar mistake, let me know so I can change it! That's all for now, and I hope you enjoy! SAPPHIRE OUT!

**Warning: **Mild language, OCs, or genderbends will be used! Don't like, please move along and don't read~

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Hetalia (though I wish I did xD). It's just fan stuff! :D

**Chapter One: Lovina**

Matthew's heart was beating so fiercely that he could barely hear the sounds of the woods around him. He bounded across the grassy floor of the thick forest like an agile antelope. He soared over tree roots when needed, or ducked to avoid a long, overhanging branch. He shouldn't be here... It was part of the large mass of human territory named Halcyon. Specifically, though, the place where he now ran was called the Elthean Forest, a large section of woodland that covered over half of the southern portion of the Halcyon. The only remotely close cities to the forest were the small hamlet of Tronan, which laid a two day's trip to the southeast, and Mayn, which was a week's journey northward. All of the area, even the small, tiny hamlet of Tronan, were dangerous for a man of his race. However, that fact held little meaning for him. He had to get away, or else he would have to go back. There was no way he was going back there. That place was full of happiness and tranquility on the outside, but the calling for war was quite obvious, despite how often the kingdom usually pursued peace.

He did not have to worry, though, as long as he kept on running. As long as he kept moving, he would not have to go back. There was not even a chance that he would be caught by any human with his light feet and quick speed, but if he did not hurry, a Fae, especially a Royal Soldier, would catch him as if it were nothing. That is why he had to keep running. If he hesitated even for a moment, a Fae could catch him in an instance, if Matthew had not lost them already.

At this point, he did not even care if the humans were able to catch him, if they somehow managed to do so. Even if the humans were extremely racist and prejudiced to his people, he would gladly give himself up to them, if it would only save him from having to go back. He did not want to face what that place had in mind for him. The humans could only kill or enslave him. The dark, unwanted burden that waited for him back in his kingdom was worse than that, or it at least seemed that way.

Suddenly, he felt his heart freeze in his chest. Severe pain shot up through his foot and up his leg, causing him to fall onto his backside. He vaguely thought he must have screamed, as he felt something rip out from inside his throat, but he could not hear it. Even when Matthew later tried to remember that fateful moment, he could never truly remember hearing the sound of agony come from his own mouth. His ears were ringing like a never-ending onslaught of bells that had fallen down an equally unending set of stairs, just ringing and ringing, falling and falling, for what seemed like hours.

When Matthew's mind finally registered that he had fallen and had been horribly hurt, the ringing in his ears dulled down to a muffled, yet still obviously there ringa-ling. His vision, which had been swimming at a dizzying rate, managed to calm down a little so the male could view what had and still was causing the severe, white-hot pain. He paled at the sight of a large bear trap that had dug its canine-like teeth into his foot. Crimson blood gently poured out of the wound at a steady rate that was enough to make him feel weak and nauseated. Now he was doomed for sure. He was a sitting duck, for God's sake! The Fae Soldiers would be able catch up to him now. It was only a matter of time...

His scream must have been louder than he thought, for in a few minutes, he saw a girl come from the eastern line of trees to his position. She was most certainly not tall and settled a couple inches below average height. Dark auburn hair with a strange curl out to the side framed her face and stopped at her shoulders. A light blue dress hugged her subtle, yet extremely beautiful figure and had dark green and yellow lacing around the cuffs of her sleeves. You might have thought that Matthew would have noticed the woman's beauty at first look, but you would be mistaken. No, the first thing he noticed about the beautiful female was that she was human.

Matthew tensed as the woman ran to his side and knelt beside him, her delicate hands dusting over the horrendous wound that had been inflicted onto him by the bear trap. He gulped and hoped against hope that the stranger would not notice his ears which pointed at the tip, or his strange-colored eyes that were sure-sign traits of the Fae race which he belonged to.

"Stay still..." the girl muttered with a very thick Alisacostian accent as she attempted to pry the metal teeth of the trap apart. She immediately snapped her head to look at Matthew's face with a menacing glare when he made the mistake of letting out a cry pain when the female accidentally pinched his wound. "Be quiet, you idiota! How did you even get your foot stuck in this?!"

"I... I w-was just having a q-quick jog in the f-forest... and I a-accidentally... set off th-the trap," He lied. Maple, did that even seem believable? It was a thinly veiled excuse that one would have to be not all that bright to not see through.

As he thought, the female stranger did not buy it even for a moment. She looked at him incredulously and shook her head with a sigh. She seemed to dismiss to lie for the moment, moving back to the trap. She managed get the trap open and moved the metal object to the side and went to work with Matthew's wound. She tore a part of her dress off and used it to tightly bandage up the wound that still bled freely. Just as she had finished perfectly wrapping the wound, rain started to fall. It started as a few trickles, then developed into a heavy downpour, which fell like tiny needles upon Matthew's skin. The woman cursed then let her golden brown eyes rest on the male's face.

"Hey, idiota, your foot is pretty banged up. I can't take care of it in the rain, but I can get you to my house so I can properly fix it up. Do you want to do that?" the stranger asked with a scowl that almost seemed permanently molded into her face.

That was a dangerous idea, going into a human's home, but there was no way he could move on his own. His violet-blue eyes darted around his surroundings for a brief second before coming to a decision. "S-Sure," he stammered in his soft-spoken voice, "I c-can't really move on my own, a-after all."

"All right, then let's get you up." The stranger helped Matthew up and let him drape his right arm across her shoulders so he could lean all of his weight on herself. Despite Matthew being almost twice the girl's size, he was quite light thanks to his Fae heritage. This fact obviously surprised the girl, but she still did not question whether Matthew was human or not. Or maybe she had noticed, Matthew thought wryly, and was simply sending him to his doom. That could very well be the case, since humans were often sneaky about these kind of things.

Lightning suddenly lit up the sky and was followed by the low, rumbling roll of thunder that sounded more like a lion growling. "Okay, just take this one step at a time. My house is just a little ways down the trail," she muttered to prepare the male for what might seem like an endless journey to him.

Matthew nodded his head and hummed under his breath, "O-One step at a time, e-eh?"

* * *

"See... nice, warm, and comfy," the female said as she set Matthew down on the couch inside her home. He shifted for a moment awkwardly and frowned a bit as he noticed some red come across the girl's cheeks as if she had just noticed how close they had been. Matthew, however, could have cared less and looked to the side and tried his best to ignore the pulsing pain in his foot.

"I-I'll go get the bandages. The fabric of m-my dress won't do for a, er, long p-period of time," the girl stammered awkwardly. She hurried over to the cupboards, which was off to the right side of the room along with a sink and various cooking instruments, without giving the male a second glance.

Matthew tilted his head sideways at the sight of her scurrying off, but he was quickly distracted by the rest of the home. It was rather simple and standard. There was a stone fireplace in front of him that looked like it had not been used in a while and the couch in which he sat in could easily sit two people and was pushed against the back wall of the room. There was also the miniature-looking kitchen in the right side of the room that looked like it was the only section of the room to be used frequently. In all of its simple glory, there was also a certain aura surrounding it. Happiness, perhaps? Or was it dark memories, clouded by the pretense of happiness? He couldn't quite decipher it, and doubted that he would ever understand, since it was his first priority to leave the human's household.

He looked back at the woman who searched the cupboards, searching for the bandages that his bleeding injury needed. He took in the sight of her and noticed for the first time that she was exceptionally beautiful, but found that held little meaning to him. After all, she was part of the murderous and cruel human race and was likely to sell him or kill him once she found out what he was. He also noticed a... strange curl poking from the side of her head? What was that? It was practically defying gravity!

The stranger, whose name was still a mystery to Matthew, quickly returned with a roll of bandages and a moist towel. It was clear to anyone that she felt quite out of place with the persistent silence and averted her eyes as she removed the blood drenched, makeshift bandages that had been used earlier.

"So, uh, my name's Lovina, what's yours?" the girl, now dubbed as Lovina, said as she began to clean Matthew's wound with the wet towel that she had had in her hand.

Matthew did a sharp intake of breath at Lovina cleaning his wound and scrunched his noise in pain. "M-Matthew. Matthew W-Williams," he introduced himself through gritted teeth. At least his name was very common, otherwise there might be some complications.

"All right, Matthew, I'm about to wrap up the wound," she warned him in case the action would cause him any pain. Lovina started to wrap the bandages around the wound with her delicate hands, trying her best not to cause any unneeded pain. And Matthew would later note that she did an excellent job in doing so, but found that his mind was on other things at that exact moment.

"What were you doing out there anyway?" Lovina asked suddenly, "The trap was in plain sight; you must have been paying very little attention not to notice it."

"I guess I was, uh, deep in my thoughts... E-Everyone always says that I have my head in the c-clouds," Matthew tried lie. That was partly true, at least.

"Okay..." replied Lovina, still slightly suspicious. Then she looked up, and found herself gazing into Matthew's violet eyes. More red appeared on the girl's cheeks and she flicked her eyes back down, once again concentrating on the bandages, but Matthew kept noticing her stealing glances at him until he noticed her pause in the midst of stealing another glance. He licked his lips nervously as she stared at his ear, which poked out of his currently wet and tangled hair. She took a deep breath to compose herself. "Matthew," she said as calmly as she could, "What race are you?"

Matthew tensed up at that. Maple, she had finally noticed... He licked his lips nervously once more and tried to fake a smile. "H-Human, of course!" he tried to assure Lovina, but knew it was a blatant lie. However, he wanted to keep up the façade as long as he could. His race were thought to be demons, mere lowlives, to any living race. If one was found, the person was to be killed, tortured, or enslaved. Mostly enslaved, but some humans did favor the death penalty.

"I'm helping you, so don't lie to me," Lovina replied, slowly losing her cool façade as her voice rose, "I'm not like other people. I don't mind if you're a Fae or whatever, just don't you dare lie to someone who's trying to help you!"

"It's hard to believe that. Every human I have ever met has been cruel and uncaring of me and my people," Matthew's violet eyes narrowed and finally gave up the act, "My scars are proof enough. So, Lovina, you've caught me. I'm a Fae. Are you going to turn me in, or kill me? Or prove me that I'm wrong? Tell me, what does Lovina the human choose?"

"You hurt me, you really do," Lovina said, putting a hand over her heart, "Leave, stay, I don't care. My mother will be back in a few weeks and my father in maybe a few months. I won't do anything to stop you or anything, just do whatever, I won't even ask what caused this to happen to you. Just don't insult my integrity again like that." In a fit of rage at Matthew's non-existent faith in her, she turned on her heels and went up the stairs to her room. Matthew almost felt a slight tinge of guilt, but it was quickly shaken from his mind. Until he had something to prove him wrong, he would continue to believe that all of the human race were ignorant and cruel, but he could not say that Lovina's words did not have some effect on him. She did not seem to be lying and even seemed hurt that he didn't trust her.

"What does she expect...? That I would so easily trust after what the rest of humanity has done? It's going to take a lot more convincing..." he murmured under his breath.


	2. The Golden Locket

**Author's Note:** Wow. WOW. This chapter turned out so well. IT'S SHO BEAUTIFUL. *sniffsniff* C': At least, it looks that way to me. I hope you think so too, since I worked so hard on this... Now that I think about it, it's probably not that good. xD BUT I TRIED, THEREFORE NO ONE SHOULD CRITICIZE ME. I joke. xD I need le criticism~ Anyway, this chapter is mainly plot-based, but there are a couple filler moments to fill in the gaps that the original RP had. Now, I'm not not perfect, so I make mistakes! Please let me know if you spot a spelling or grammatical error! c: That is all for now, so I hope you enjoy! SAPPHIRE OUT!

**Awesome11: **Gorgeous? A MASTERPIECE? Eh... I wouldn't call it that. ^^' But thanks for thinking that! It means a lot coming from my Lovina roleplayer. c:

**Warning: **Mild language, OCs, or genderbends will be used! Don't like, please move along and don't read~

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hetalia (though I wish I did xD). It's just fan stuff! :D

**Chapter Two: The Golden Locket**

After a few awkward minutes by himself, Matthew was debating on what exactly to do. He could not run away, because of how severe his wound still was, and even if he could leave, the others were still looking for him. It would not be wise to try and run while it was not only dark, but also raining outside. No, he would sadly have to wait it out until his wound healed, but what was he supposed to do here? It would probably take Lovina a while to cool off, not that he really cared much, but it at least gave his mind something to think about. He had to do something to pass the time...

Just as the thought crossed his mind, he began to think of his mother. He closed his eyes and felt a smile tug at the edges of his lips. She was so kind and wonderful. She had the most amazing voice as well. Then Matthew had an idea. Why not sing to himself? It was not as if there was something better to do, nor was there anyone listening in on him. It did not take much thought until the words of the Fae language dripped softly and royally from his mouth, reverberating and silky, yet at the same time almost unheard.

**_"Una deo,  
Mona tselata.  
Una deo,  
Treta ma.  
Matta farley tei kola.  
Tali kane me~"_**

Matthew kept his eyes closed as he sang and felt as though his mother was right beside him once more. He felt as if nothing was wrong with the world, just like he did when he was a child. His still wet, golden hair framed his face perfectly and his lips seemed to move in a way no other creature would ever be able to copy.

He continued this for a while before his pointed ears twitched at a sound, causing him to stop the song abruptly. His eyes snapped open and focused on where Lovina peeked out from a doorway, her face openly showing her awe and a blush. He quickly turned his gaze onto his hands, which were neatly folded in his lap. He was a bit angry that his sense of peace had been ruined and brought to a screeching stop, but there was nothing he could do about it. He really should have known better than to think that Lovina would not be able to hear him. Humans were not deaf, after all, and had ears like everything else in the world.

"It's a lullaby," Matthew eventually said softly, as well as a bit angrily, "Fae sing it to their young."

"Oh," Lovina said rather dumbly and seemed embarrassed that she had been caught eavesdropping, "That was very beautiful." There was an awkward silence between the two when the female seemed to remember the fact that Matthew hated humans and probably wanted nothing to do with her. She turned her body as if to leave and apologized in a way that made one think it was something she did not do very often, "I-I'm sorry to disturb you."

"Stay if you want," Matthew said stoically. "Just... Don't try anything. I'm not sure what you've heard about the Fae, but the part about us having strong magical abilities is true. One wrong move..." he trailed off, leaving the rest of the threat unsaid.

"I've heard enough," Lovina said solemnly. At the mention of the legendary Fae magic known to all, albeit known in different ways, she found herself flashing back to when she was first studying magic. She had practically glorified the Fae, who embraced the study of magic as a way of life instead of a cursed evil that had to be vanquished.

Matthew watched Lovina head over to the kitchen with a tense posture and suspicious eyes. His suspicion, however, quickly turned into ignorant confusion as he watched her start to make two mugs of a drink that he had never seen before. The liquid was clearly warm and of a brownish color that made the drink somewhat resemble coffee, but it had a pungent smell that gave off the impression that the drink was sweet instead of bitter. As suspicious as he was of Lovina, his curiosity got the better of him in this situation. Just what kind of drink was she making?

He watched in newfound confusion and curiosity as Lovina quickly finished up making the strange, foreign drink, but felt himself tense up once more as she handed one of the mugs to him. Matthew took the drink despite the fact that Lovina, a human, had made it and eyed it cautiously. "What is this?" he asked skeptically. It smelled just so sweet... Much sweeter than most of the things he would drink.

"It's, uh, hot cocoa," Lovina answered with a raised eyebrow, "It's almost like tea, but it is much sweeter and rich."

Matthew's violet eyes flicked between Lovina and the drink in his hands, distrust evident in his orbs._ "Maybe... it's poisoned? No, I didn't see her put anything in the drinks... Then maybe... A taste wouldn't hurt?"_ he debated before bringing the cup to his lips and swallowing some of the liquid. His eyes could not help but widen in surprise at the sweet and wonderful flavor that burst into his mouth. He stared in complete surprise at the mug after taking it from his lips. "It's... actually good," he noted to himself quietly. Lovina could not help but giggle a bit at his reaction to the drink, watching his violet orbs go wide.

"Yeah, it's one of the better things us humans have to offer," she said, taking a sip from her own mug before she added curiously, "So... what kind of magic do you know?" Matthew raised a slender eyebrow at her question. Why would a human, whose race hated and despised magic, want to know about the magic he knew? What possible use could that be to her?

"I am able to do all kinds of magic, but I particularly excel in ice, nature, and blood magic," he replied simply.

"Blood magic?" Lovina asked, curiosity weaving its way into her voice. Matthew felt himself frowning the more he was questioned. It was clear that Lovina understood that ice and nature magic were his elemental affinities, that much was obvious on her face, although humans were supposed to be ignorant to this knowledge. She seemed to understand and embrace the concept more, even. With the limited knowledge she was likely to have, she also seemed like she had never heard of blood magic, but at the same time was curious about it, despite how ominous it might sound.

"It's a... dark type of magic," Matthew began, "Blood magic can be used for healing or control. You can stop bleeding and repair wounds, if you are extremely good, that is. You can also create more blood if you have lost too much. On the other hand, a blood magic user can also manipulate the blood to move the body however the person wishes. Your body can be moved completely beyond your own control. It's an abnormal magic to be good at." Lovina shivered visibly at the darkness of it, but at the same time seemed entranced with the new knowledge.

"Could you heal your leg?" she asked.

"Like I said, you have to be extremely good to heal. I can heal wounds on a smaller scale, but I can only partially stop the bleeding on a severe wound like this," Matthew explained. He took the bandage that Lovina had wrapped his injury with off and stared down pensively at his wound. He muttered something muddled and strange under his breath, causing the blood from the wound to suddenly retract back into his body. Although the bleeding had clearly been stopped, the wound did not close, just as Matthew thought it would. He still needed much more practice. "Just like that," he said, looking as if the action had taken much energy from him.

Lovina's golden-brown eyes widened to the size of saucers at the sight. "D-Do you think you could teach me blood magic and how to find your elemental affinity?" she blurted out before she could stop the question coming from her mouth. She froze and swallowed thickly, knowing the question would give everything away.

Matthew whipped his gaze onto Lovina, the shock and surprise displayed plainly upon his face. "You want to know magic? But..." he trailed off. Did that mean that she was a witch, a person who had gone against the human race to learn and embrace a life of magic and was practically shunned for their beliefs?

Lovina turned a bright red and started to silently curse herself for being such an idiot. "Uh," was all she could get out before she did what she did to all her problems... She ran away, up into her room, closed the room, and screamed into her pillow, trying to think of an alibi. Matthew coughed awkwardly at the sight. Well then. He certainly had not expected that. Lovina did not seem to be the type to become a witch. He did not know why, but she simply did not.

He let out a sigh. He should not even be sticking his nose in a human's business. She seemed nice enough, but he still did not trust her. It could be a simple façade made to deceive him. He needed to back off. It was not wise to be getting into a human's affairs. After he was fully healed, he just needed to leave and forget all that had occurred in this cabin in the middle of the Elthean Forest. Nothing good would come from associating with a human. That was a certain factor of this life, but maybe he should not wait until he was healed. Maybe he should just leave already. It would probably be better for the both of them. Lovina being a witch, though, did make him think. She had gone against her own kind, she had claimed to hate the way her own people had acted, and just maybe was telling the truth about not wanting to harm him...

The thought was gone as quickly as it had come. He could not think like that. It would cause a repeat of the last time he had tried to venture in the human's territory.

Matthew tried to stand up, using the couch for support. He grunted in pain. He was still weak, but he had to push through the pain. He looked at the door in determination. He could do this. He was a Fae that had trained with the Spades' Ace since he was a mere child. He left the safety of the couch and attempted to take a step forward. He screamed instantly inside his mouth, which muffled the sound only slightly. He found himself having a flashback to the moment his foot was caught in the bear trap as he fell in real time, feeling much like he had earlier, except on a smaller scale.

_"Or maybe I can't do it..."_ Matthew thought with a groan.

At the sound of a dull thump resounding through the house, Lovina had instantly ran back into the room, thinking that her "visitor" had done something very stupid, which was not far from the truth. She sighed at the sight of Matthew groaning face-first on the floor and put her hands on her hips much like a mother would when she caught her children doing something they were not supposed to.

"Idiota," she muttered as she helped the Fae up. "Look, you can leave whenever you want when you are _better_. I don't want you getting hurt again or getting an infection, okay?" she said, placing the grumbling male back onto the couch, who currently resembled an angry ten-year-old that had been taken away from playing with his friends.

Matthew tensed at being touched, but didn't voice any thoughts. "Oui, oui... I get it..." he muttered with irritation lacing his voice.

"Speaking of infection," Lovina suddenly said as she remembered something, "I forgot to put some herbs on that wound." She scampered out of the room and fetched some herbs that, when mashed together properly, would prevent an infection. She quickly returned to smear the remedy onto the gaping wound, then replaced the bandage that had been taken off so Matthew could show off his abilities. After this was done, she glanced at her watch and whistled at the time.

"I'm heading to bed since it's gotten so late. See you in the morning," she said, moving her hand to her mouth as she yawned and walked out of the room.

"Boa noite, Nena," he said, not even noticing that he had slipped into his native tongue as he spoke. He leaned his head back on the arm of the couch, shifting awkwardly since his body was still soaking wet, then closed his eyes and fell into a light, restless sleep full of nightmares and fevers.

* * *

Matthew groaned and twitched as his eyes fluttered open. His body felt abnormally heavy and as though it was on fire, yet at the same time he felt as if he was freezing. He coughed and sneezed roughly almost immediately upon waking, his body shivering and his teeth chattering beyond his own control. As he tried to remember what had caused him to feel so ill, the memories of the night before flooded back into him.

Running away from home.

The bear trap.

Lovina.

Oh, and the fact that he was still wearing his soaking wet clothes. No wonder he felt sick! Maple, he should have known better than to sleep in soaking wet clothes, but, he supposed, it was not as if there was an extra pair of clothes readily available to him. This was not his home, after all.

He looked around the room groggily, groaning as his head spun just by moving it, and looked with blurred vision at the nearby window. To no one's surprise, it was still raining as heavily as before. He sneezed roughly once more and hugged himself, trying to retain some of his warmth. Maple, who knew sneezing was so annoying? Seriously, there should be something that will ban sneezing for all time...

...

Oh maple, the fever was making was making him so delirious that he was beginning to sound like his brother. He really hoped this would wear off soon.

"Hey, idiota, is everything all right?" Lovina suddenly asked as she poked her head in from another room. Matthew tried to answer that he was perfectly fine, but a coughing fit prevented him from doing so. At the sight of the coughing spell, Lovina seemed to finally realize that Matthew was still wet from the rain. She quickly exited the room, the sound of her scurrying up the stairs echoing through the house, then returned with a new set of clothes that presumably belonged to her father.

"Here," she said as heat rose to her cheeks, "T-This should fit you. I can dry your other clothes."

Matthew looked at Lovina blankly, only nodding his head due to obligatory politeness. "Thank you." he muttered as he took the clothing and ran his hand over the fabric of the clothing. It was just a simple white button-up shirt, grayish-brown vest, and black slacks. It was stiff and scratchy, like all human clothing, at least when compared to the satiny fabric that the Fae used._ "Humans wear the most uncomfortable clothing,"_ he thought with a silent snicker.

He stared the clothing for a bit longer before looking awkwardly up at Lovina, shifting in his seat. "Do you mind, er, leaving so I can change?"

The minute he was sure Lovina was gone, Matthew shed his shirt. He briefly paused to stare at the deep scars that ran across his ribcage, chest, back, arms, and neck, encasing and strangling him like a constricting snake. They were all from a single human, he thought bitterly.

He shook away the memory and put on the white shirt and vest, then awkwardly slipped his pants on as he tried not to touch his wound. That was when he realized something. One of his hands shot to his chest where an object would usually be hanging. It was gone. The locket his mother had given him was gone. He... must have dropped it while he was running. His shoulders sagged at that. It was his only memory left of his mother. It was a simple, golden locket with a small painting of his mother and him. He smiled softly as he remembered the inscription on the back of the golden object, _'A prince to the Fae, but a baby boy to me.'_

Matthew rested his head back on the arm of the chair, still feeling the effects of the fever. He was back to square one again. What was he suppose to do until he recovered? Sleep? Sing? Twiddle his thumbs? He really hated not being able to move! He sneezed suddenly, making himself sniff. And he was sick too. Maple, the world hated him.

Matthew did not have much time to himself, however, for ten minutes later Lovina burst back into the cabin, looking as though she had run a long distance. She tossed her jacket to the side and looked she was holding something shiny in her left fist, but held yellow flowers in the other. She smirked at Matthew, much to his confusion, and walked to the Fae's side. She suddenly made a deep bow and revealed what she had in her left hand, which was, in fact, the locket that Matthew had thought he had lost forever.

"I found this while trying to find out whose bear trap it was that you got your foot caught in. I believe it is yours, Your Majesty?" She said eloquently, almost as if she was having much fun with introducing the knowledge that she had found to Matthew.

"Your Majesty...?" Matthew said in bewilderment, before his eyes flicked to his locket. His locket! He had thought it was lost forever, never to be seen again, yet here it was in front of him! He quickly snatched it and held it close to him in sheer relief. Then he realized. Lovina knew he was a prince... Crap.


	3. Danger on the Horizon

**Author's Note**: Jeeze, I REALLY procrastinated while making this chapter. Like, seriously. Every time I even thought about doing more of this, I would think, "Ehhhh, I'll do it later." ...I really need to work on that. xD Anyway, this chapter was a tough edit. If you had seen the original RP, you would see how difficult it was to focus more on one person and to correct errors. MEH. But I hope you like it. :D I'm not perfect, so I make mistakes! If you see I make a spelling or grammar mistake, let me know so I can change it! That's all for now, and I hope you enjoy! SAPPHIRE OUT!

**Warning:** Mild language, OCs, or genderbends will be used! Don't like, please move along and don't read~

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Hetalia (though I wish I did xD). It's just fan stuff! :D

**Guest: **Teehee. C: I do enjoy making people squeal! Yeah, RomaCan is such a rare pairing. :c I've never actually seen a story other than mine with Romano as the girl. DX IT MAKES ME SHO SAD... Epic? Really .-. I don't consider myself a good writer at all xD

**Chapter Three: Danger on the Horizon**

Lovina straightened herself with a smirk still present on her face as she moved towards the kitchen, bringing out a pot. After she had put water inside the pot, she let it boil, then proceeded to drop the yellow flowers she had had in her hand inside.

"Yes, I know. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out. However, Your Majesty, how did you get to be so far away from your kingdom?"

"I ran away," Matthew said simply, "It was the Choosing Day. I knew what would happen, but I did not want it to. Besides, if they give up their search on me... My father will be a lot happier with the choice. He always favored my brother anyway." He clenched his fists at the thought. It had always been Alfred that his father cared about, never him. He was just invisible to him.

"You have a brother?" Lovina asked, patiently examining Matthew's facial expressions. It was clear that she was trying to break through his poker face, but the prince would only allow her to see so much.

"Yeah," Matthew muttered and scratched the back of his neck, "An energetic, stubborn, crazy, and egotistical twin brother. His name is Alfred. I know who would have been chosen to become king. Everyone knew who the staff would choose, even my father, but... I refuse to become king. I cannot."

"Why not?" the female asked in confusion, obviously feeling as though she was missing something in this strange puzzle.

"Not only do I hate the idea of arranged marriage and the overwhelming responsibility that comes with being a king, but I hate the idea of what the people will want. They are calling for war and I do not want to start the mass loss of life, no matter how much I hate humans," he explained. He let out a dry chuckle and ran a hand through his hair. "Why am I telling you this at all? A human, no less... I do not understand it."

A tinge of bitterness hit Lovina with surprising force at that statement. She snorted indignantly and quickly went to go mash up the other items she had brought with her inside and added a drop of purple liquid into it, liquefying the entire solution. After this was done, she angrily poured the strange liquid into a mug, then thrust it towards Matthew irritatedly.

"Good point. What would an idiot human like me know? Here, this should help with your cold. Sorry for disturbing and trying to help you, _Your Majesty_," she spat the words out as if they were poison, her voice thickly laced with sarcasm. She stormed out of the room, cursing the Fae out under her breath as she did so.

Matthew was left flabbergasted in his seat with the strange medicine in his hands. After a few seconds of processing what had just occurred, he felt the most unexpected feeling twist uncomfortably inside his chest. For the first time in his life, he felt truly guilty for upsetting a human. He had to think for a few moments on why he was having such a feeling, then he had a simple, yet almost unthinkable thought. Maybe, among everything, the humans were not the only racists on the planet that they inhabited. He had assumed that every human was a horrible, ignorant tyrant who only cared for themselves. He had never stopped to think that, perhaps, there were good humans out there.

His shoulders sagged in realization and he stared down at the mug that had been given to him, his large violet-blue eyes full of regret. Lovina had not done anything to deserve this hate. How could he have been so stupid and blind to the truth?

"I am such an idiot!" Matthew growled to himself, taking the medicine in one gulp. The moment the violet liquid had touched his lips, he immediately felt all symptoms of his cold melt away. The sniffling, coughing, and oh-so irritating sneezing had actually stopped. He felt his body melt into its normal temperature, the heated flush on his face disappearing. His long ears twitched upward in surprise, before guiltily drooping back downwards in an almost comical fashion. Staring at the now empty mug, Matthew immediately knew that what he had drank was a potion... And not a shabby one, at that.

"She is quite good for a person who has had no real magical training..." he noted quietly.

_"D-Do you think you could teach me blood magic and how to find your elemental affinity?"_

He suddenly had an epiphany, causing his ears to perk up again. _"Maybe that is how I can make it up to Lovina... I can train her,"_ Matthew thought excitedly. He had made his mind up. He was going to train Lovina, but first... He had to apologize, which meant he had to somehow make his way to the female without falling like he had earlier. He grimaced at the difficult endeavor he was about to undergo, but knew he had no other choice.

The prince got up from the couch he had been sitting upon, cautiously holding onto the wall for safety as he hopped awkwardly on one leg. _"Just be careful,"_ he told himself, _"and I will be fine."_ He hopped on his good leg and went through the doorway he had seen Lovina disappear through. He had to pause to regain his breath and balance for a moment before going along with the rest of his task. After nearly falling several times, he finally managed to find a shockingly empty library. _"This is the only room that you can get to from this hallway... She has to be here..." _he thought to himself with confusion. Knowing that his leg was getting very sore very quickly from standing on it, he decided he only had one option. He had to call out for the female he was looking for.

"Lovina?" Matthew said to the very empty-looking room. In response to his call, there was a sound of shuffling feet, then a loud _knock!_ from what sounded like behind a bookcase. The sound of metal on metal, the tingling of gears, and the shifting of wood on wood rang through the library quite clearly, then, before Matthew could even blink, a bookcase that had appeared to be a dead end had moved to reveal Lovina behind it with another section of bookcases behind her.

"Yes?" Lovina asked angrily, her arms crossed across her chest and her eyebrows furrowed to show her displeasure. She did not even seem to be entertained by how startled and shocked Matthew was at the sudden appearance of another section of the library. If anything, the female seemed more irritated by the fact of his confusion. Matthew diverted his eyes at the glare being sent to him through amber eyes, suddenly feeling a sense of nervousness come over him. His ears drooped downward and his cheeks lit up slightly, his hands pulling at the other nervously behind his back.

"I-I just wanted to say that, I am... er, s-sorry. I just... there have been c-certain events in m-my life to make m-me believe that all humans are e-evil and cruel. I-I am sorry," he apologized with the stammer that was always a product of the nervousness and shyness he would feel now and again, "I-I also would like to say, that... if you d-do not mind, that is... I would like to train you."

There was an instant, radical change in the atmosphere of the room. Lovina had become stock-still, the anger disappearing from her face. Her eyes had widened to the size of saucers and obviously had a hard time processing all that she had heard. "Dio mio! Seriously, idiota?!" In the heat of the moment before she could realize what she was doing, Lovina rushed towards Matthew and hugged the Fae, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

The Fae instantly became stiff when the thin arms wrapped around him. "You are welcome," He said stiffly, still not completely willing to be touched by a human, but not making any complaints. When the female had finally noticed what exactly she was doing, she blushed deep red, and backed away from the prince.

"S-So, how do we start?" Lovina asked, fidgeting awkwardly in her spot.

Matthew thought about it for a moment before answering, "First, I will have to assess your abilities and see if we can find your element. Then we can move on to other things such as training, discipline, and potions..."

"Okay, how do you assess my abilities?" Lovina didn't look Matthew in the eyes, the heat refusing to disappear in her cheeks.

"Well..." Matthew scratched the back of his head as he tried to find a solution. He found a chair placed by the fireplace inside the room, which gave the room a warm, cozy temperature. He sighed as he sat down, glad to have his weight off his one leg. "...Just show me what you can do already to the best of your ability. It does not have to be anything too fancy," he eventually decided.

"Okay..." she muttered uncertainly.

Lovina looked around the room to find something to use her magic on, then flicked her wrist in the direction of the fireplace set away from the bookcases. The burning fire was instantly extinguished within a simple blink before she made another small movement with her wrist, causing the fireplace to light again. She then sang a soft little tune and a few plants started to grow from between the cracks in the floorboards. As a final trick, Lovina raised both of her hands. She closed her eyes, straightened her arms, then murmured something under her breath. After the mumbled words were spoken, a book from the other room zoomed towards her and landed softly in her hands. She put the book under her arm then gazed at Matthew

"Umm, that's about the gist of it. I can do odd and end stuff like boiling water, transporting certain objects, creating things from nothing, and I've been working on making things disappear and reappear. Depending on the circumstances, I am able to control wind, but I mainly work with fire," she explained, her eyes anxiously awaiting Matthew's decision, though the rest of her body language looked as if she could care less, "I'm also decent with potions. You drank one of them earlier, in fact."

Matthew blinked and viewed the actions with surprise, putting his elbow on the arm of the chair and resting his chin on the heel of his hand. "Well, that certainly is a surprise... I never knew a human could be a multibeing..." the prince hummed under his breath in thought. He then clicked his tongue and continued, assuming that Lovina was unfamiliar with the word, "It means you have more than one affinity and have the ability to preform all types of magic. That is very, very rare even among Fae. I myself am one as well, but I particularly excel more in three certain types, which I mentioned to you earlier. This definitely makes your training more elaborate and difficult."

"Oh..." Lovina looked at her hands as if something about the statement had surprised her. After an onslaught of emotions had appeared in her eyes, she refocused her gaze back on Matthew, staring into the Fae's violet-blue orbs. Wonder and curiosity were evident in her eyes, though, once again, her body language appeared to be tense and uncaring.

"So how do you teach me?" she asked softly.

"I will have to instruct you in each type... Maybe even Blood, if you are extremely good," Matthew managed a small, unsure smile that he hoped did not look too awkward as he replied, "It will not be easy. It is going to be tough and you might get hurt along the way. Still up for it?"

"Yeah, definitely!" Lovina said a bit too quickly, showing how excited she really was. Matthew's smile became at least a little more certain at that, his smile soft and a little shy. Despite the show he had been putting on, Matthew was actually a quiet, gentle, and practical person.

_"It feels so strange when I reveal my more quiet side to Lovina,"_ Matthew thought, _"Not bad, just... different. I wonder how it will take me to get used to this? A Fae befriending and training a human, that sure is something_." He chuckled slightly at the thought before continuing on with his conversation.

"Wonderful. Now, you have told me that you are more at home with fire magic, but what about ice magic?"

"Hmm..." Lovina hummed as she thought for a second, then, furrowing her eyebrows, she looked at the glass of water on a nearby table that she had brought down earlier. She reached her hand toward the glass, causing frost to spread over the container and liquid. This continued at a slow pace until the water became partially frozen, but not quite frozen completely. Suddenly the frost began to freeze out of the female's control, eventually spreading over the table, only to stop when Lovina quickly retracted her hand.

"How's that?" she asked, knowing what the answer was before Matthew even spoke.

"You are not controlling it. Watch," He chided lightly. The prince simply turned his gaze onto the frozen table and glass, making the water immediately unfreeze within an unbelievable second, then, almost instantly, he made the water in the glass completely freeze as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"See? Completely solid and did not affect the table," he stated with a smile.

Lovina stared in amazement at the action, her jaw hanging open in shock. She closed her mouth and swallowed in an intimidated manner, attempting to make a confident smile, "O-Okay, let me try it."

She returned the water back to normal, then, biting her lower softly, slowly reached her hand out towards the glass as she had done before. Sweat appeared on her forehead as she tried to control all of the magic coming from her body, the frost delicately touching the very tip of the water. After what might have seemed like an hour, Lovina had successfully frozen the entire cup, the frost only gently licking the wooden table. She finally lowered her hand and, gasping, turned to Matthew.

"H-how's that...?" she asked, her voice laced with exhaustion.

Matthew nodded his approval with a small tug pulling at the edges of his lips. "Good, good! The main thing about ice magic is control. Keep a steady head. You are doing extremely well, since it seems to be one of your weaker forms of magic," he replied before his happy exterior was suddenly replaced by a forlorn and irritated one, letting out a heart-wrenching sigh, "If Kumajirou was here, I could teach you about familiars... If only I had not left him behind..."

"Kumajirou?" Lovina asked with a frown, the word obviously strange on her tongue, "I've heard a bit about familiars, but not much..."

"He is my familiar," Matthew said, his pointed ears drooping at the thought, "It is a funny thing to say, but he was my closest friend, even if he could not remember my name. Still is my closest friend. When I left, I did not have time to grab anything, so I had to leave him behind."

"What was he exactly? In fact, what _is_ a familiar?"

"It is hard to explain without him here, but... Kuma looks somewhat like one of your northern animals. I believe you call them polar bears. He is just... a lot smaller. And he talks," Matthew clarified, his fingers moving over his locket, which he had returned to its true position around his neck, "Familiars are magical beings that act as a mage's, or in your case, witch's eternal companion. They protect the person they bond with and boost their magical abilities to a phenomenal rate. Most are summoned. Only a few will meet rarer breeds of familiars, such as myself, and simply find them instead of summoning. However, for you, you will have to summon. The rare breeds will only meet their companion when the witch is very young, a mere child."

"Dio mio! That sounds amazing! Let's summon me a familiar!" Lovina said excitedly, doing a sudden emotion flip.

"Hold on there, young witch," Matthew chided with a chuckle, "You cannot just summon a familiar with a flick of your wrist. You have to be more experienced, at least into your intermediate stage of training. You have a long way to go before then, since you are still a beginner."

"Okay..." Lovina sighed a bit dejectedly before correcting herself, "Since I'm not skilled enough, let's change that. Train me so I _can_ have a familiar!"

Matthew put a hand to his mouth to try and muffle the snicker that wanted to be released, "Okay. I think I can help with that. Next we are going to give magic a rest and talk about-" He was cut off by creak, that was so quiet and small in the sound that it could only be picked up by Matthew's ears. He froze and put a finger to his lips, signaling to Lovina that she needed to remain silent for the time being.

"There's someone in the house..." He whispered softly, his voice barely audible.


	4. The Kingdom of Spades

**Author's Note:** I'm sorry for the prolonged update! I've been trying to update the stories that I haven't updated in MONTHS. Yeah, I've been really procrastinating in case you couldn't notice... -.-' Anyway, that aside, we get some feels up in this chapter, but not much plot. Yeah, sorry, this chapter is primarily filler. Sadly, every story has it at some point. I hope you guys can forgive me! DX I'm not perfect, so I make mistakes! If you see I make a spelling or grammar mistake, let me know so I can change it! That's all for now, and I hope you enjoy! SAPPHIRE OUT!

**Warning:** Mild language, OCs, or genderbends will be used! Don't like, please move along and don't read~

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hetalia (though I wish I did xD). It's just fan stuff! :D

**Scarlet daydreamer:** A-Amazing? Really? You're not joking? JACKPOT? I... Well, w-wow! Thanks! ^\\\^ You have no idea how much that means, although a lot of credit should go to Awesome11, who was my Lovina roleplayer.

**Guest: **I'll be honest, the minute you gave me the names of the fanfictions, I went off to find them and read them. XD They're so good, but the one-shot part is sadly a bummer.

**Kar-Kar93:** Aww, thanks! It means a lot :)

**Chapter Four: The Kingdom of Spades**

"My mother shouldn't be back for several more weeks..." Lovina whispered softly, her body stiff and tense, "If we need a quick escape, we can go into my secret library..."

"We will not be able to escape," Matthew whispered in reply, "I can feel it in my heart. It is neither a Fae nor a Human. It is a being that belongs to the neutral party in the Fae Land of Cards known as a Joker. They are the deadliest things, because they will do anything to maintain the peace and neutrality." Matthew felt his blood run cold as he explained what exactly the intruder was, letting his whispering voice openly display just how dangerous the creature was. He swallowed thickly, his violet-blue eyes lingering on the doorway.

"However," he paused, "I may be able to grant you safe passage if I stay behind. You _need_ to leave."

"No!" Lovina said a bit louder than she probably should have. She quickly lowered her voice and looked around nervously, "Jacks follow a suit, right? So, if it's Fae and neutral, why is it here?"

"Joker, not Jack," he corrected absentmindedly, "When I say neutral, I mean even their entire being is neutral. The race classified as a Joker is a life form that is a mixture between Fae and Human." He sighed and looked down. "Because I left, the power in my kingdom was sent out of balance. This Joker is most likely trying to fix that."

The prince looked up at Lovina after his explanation, saying his words more firmly, "Leave. The Joker might see you as a threat. You do _not_ want that. You have to leave."

"But," Lovina was clearly thinking desperately for a reason to stay, but she was unable to make a valid excuse, "Promise me you'll teach me how to get my familiar, okay, idiota?"

"Oui! Of course," Matthew smiled softly as he said this, "Now go! The Joker is getting closer!"

"All right then..." the female murmured. She quickly walked over to the opening between the bookcases, then, at the last second with a sudden afterthought, rushed back over and kissed Matthew on the cheek. Blushing furiously, she quickly went through the opening and pushed the bookcases back together as they had originally been placed, closing out Matthew.

Matthew was stunned for a moment, one of his hands touching his cheek. _"Did that... really just happen?" _he thought with shock. He blushed then shook his head. He had more important things to think about at the moment.

Just as he was about to attempt to stand up from his chair, the Joker that the prince had been awaiting had entered the room. The Joker was a tall man, his shoulders broad and strong like a human's, but his ears pointed like a Fae's. A thin, pointed black tail waved behind him, waving back and forth like a hostile, yet amused cat. His hair was a mop of white that was only interrupted by two pitch black horns poking out and curving upwards. His mischievous scarlet eyes stared into him, calculating and observing the slightly taller blonde.

"Your Highness," the Joker smirked, speaking in a scratchy, rough tone, "You've had the kingdoms worried."

Matthew scrunched his nose and responded with a cold voice, "I am not coming with you, Joker Gilbert. You will have to kill me."

"Now, now. No need to be that way. You know I can't do that," Gilbert laughed the strangest laugh you could have imagined, which could have only been described as having a lisp to even slightly imagine it. It echoed off the walls of the room, just repeating again and again until the noise finally faded out of hearing. "Kesesese~ You know as well as anyone that a Joker's powers will beat a Fae's any day." His smirk widened as he suddenly floated up into the air, reclining on an invisible chair.

"You're not all that smart if you thought I would come alone," the Joker suddenly added, "Or that I didn't see or hear that little scene with the girl." Matthew blushed, making Gilbert's Cheshire cat grin grow.

"Human, isn't she?"

"Leave her alone," Matthew growled, his normally quiet voice now threatening and icy.

Gilbert rested the back of his head on his hands and snickered mischievously, obviously not feeling at all threatened. "Kesesese~ I love how you said that! Tall and dark! 'Leave her alone!' For a human, no less!" he spoke, trying to mimic how the prince had said the words.

"Just shut up!" Matthew frowned and tensed, the volume of his voice suddenly rising, "Call whatever Joker that accompanied you off. You will not harm her; she is innocent."

"Innocent, hmm?" Gilbert threw his head back in laughter at the statement. His loud laugh echoed off the walls of the small library they found themselves in once more, obviously more than amused with the entire situation. "The humans have persecuted and enslaved the Fae for generations, yet you call her innocent?"

"Those were other humans. Not Lovina herself."

Gilbert blinked and, bringing his laughter to a halt, let his face become stoic. He lowered himself back to the ground and hummed in thought, "You make things interesting, young prince. I can already see the Keikaku changing because of your actions. However, I will not call off Peter, unless you promise to return to the kingdom."

"The Keikaku changing?" Matthew asked incredulously. The "Keikaku" was a legendary piece of information and visions that only the Jokers could see. It was said to tell the past, present, and future. It was also speculated to hold all possible futures and paths that could happen depending on one's decisions, but that fact has never been confirmed nor denied by Jokers. Hardly anything could change the Keikaku, but that fact held little use to him right now. In his mind, Lovina was in danger of being hurt by a Joker, and there was only one way to to prevent that and protect her.

"I..." Matthew felt his heart clench, knowing that he only had one option. It was an option he had hoped that he would never be forced to choose, but now was obliged to make. He would have to return to the place he feared the most. There was no other way.

"I-I will return to the Spades Kingdom," Matthew said, speaking in a regal, prince-like manner, no matter how much his voice wanted to shake, "But only if you at least let me have a word with her before I leave."

Gilbert smirked victoriously and clapped his pale hands together. "Of course, Your Highness. I am so glad you changed your mind, though I knew you would, one way or another."

After the words had been tauntingly uttered by the Joker, there was a surge of magical energy, making the pages of books flip and turn rapidly. Then, with a simple blink of an eye, two people appeared in the middle of the library, making the disturbance stop. One of the people was clearly Lovina, but the other was a boy about half her height. He had the brightest of blue eyes, an untamable mass of blonde hair, and the strangest eyebrows one would ever see, as they were unusually bushy. The boy wore a strange knitted hat upon his head that was the color of darkest midnight and had two points in it that would almost make it seem as though the child had horns to match the pair on Gilbert's head. He would appear to the naked eye to be a normal, innocent human child, but the pointed ears that poked out from his hair and the waving, pointed tail behind him would give him instantly away to belonging to the mysterious race known as Jokers.

Matthew looked at Lovina, his violet-blue eyes crestfallen and doleful, "I am sorry, Lovina. It seems as if I will have to break my promise of teaching you... I have to go back to my kingdom."

"No!" was the first thing Lovina said in response, her hand reaching out towards Matthew, but, at a sudden waterfall of emotions and thoughts that happened within the span of mere milliseconds, she slowly retracted her hand, tears brimming in the corners of her amber eyes, despite how much she was trying to hold them back.

"I-It's okay, Matthew. You need to rule the Fae and prevent a war from breaking out," Lovina assured quietly. The female gave a small smile as her eyes started to water even more than before, one tear even managing to slip down her cheek. The silvery tear was quickly wiped away, leaving no trace that it had ever been there.

"Kumajirou is w-waiting for you, right?" the witch asked with the same wry smile, trying to distract Matthew from what had just fell from her amber eye, "Th-Thank you, Your Highness, for giving me some of your time, but it is now t-time for you to go home." The young woman did not look directly at Matthew as she said this, obviously fearing that she might start full-out sobbing. From what Matthew could tell, Lovina was the type of person to think showing her emotions was a weakness, which constantly made her mask her emotions with fake anger.

_"It seems as though the situation is extremely hard for her,_" Matthew thought sadly, _"Since it has even broken that wall of masked emotions down."_

"I... I am truly sorry," Matthew apologized again. Knowing that he was the reason that Lovina had actually let a tear go made his heart twist and turn in the most unpleasant way imaginable. His ears lowered (which was out of more habit than anything. He had always unconsciously allowed his ears to show how he was feeling, even when he was young.) to show his sadness. It was clear that he did not want to leave the human he had only just begun to become closer to and get to know better. He almost wanted to suggest that Lovina would come with him, but he knew that the Fae would want to kill or imprison her on sight. Why did it have to be this way? Why did it have to be that their races hated each other, which made them unable to become friends with the other? There had to be some way that Lovina could come with him... Then, as if a candle had just been lit inside Matthew's mind, he suddenly had it!

"I'm so stupid!" Matthew laughed, breaking the solemn atmosphere. He looked at his golden locket and, putting one hand on the back of it to raise it closer to himself, murmured something under his breath. It shimmered for a brief, breathless moment before turning back to its original state. After this was done, Matthew turned to Lovina and, removing the locket from its place on his body, put the locket's chain around her neck

The prince stood back and admired his work with a grin. "Perfect! You now will have the appearance of a Fae to anyone that looks at you, but you will see yourself as yourself in a mirror. This way you can come with me!" A thought suddenly struck Matthew and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously and added in a much quieter tone, "That is, if you want to..."

Lovina's breath caught in her throat as she fingered the necklace that had been given to her and then looked at Matthew, tears of joy in her eyes replacing ones of sadness. "Of course I want to come with you, idiota!" In the heat of the moment she rushed up and hugged Matthew. Then, blushing, pulled away.

Matthew's face flared with a blush, but he maintained his composure, "G-Great! That settles things, then!"

"Meeeeh... Whatever, I'll allow it, just stop with the awkwardness!" Gilbert groaned, Peter making a childish face at the scene, "Before we go, I have one more thing to do!" He snapped his pale fingers, a small spark appearing that moved towards Matthew before disappearing in the span of a few seconds. Then, almost out of nowhere, there was a huge flash that made Matthew tense, a prickling sensation in his foot. Much like the first spark, this flash disappeared in a split seconds, the only trace that it had ever been there being the Fae prince's now healed foot.

The prince and Lovina stared at the foot in wonder, but they had little time to react to this amazing healing. The taller of the Jokers touched both Lovina and Matthew, a smirk lighting up his face. "Time to return to the Fae Kingdom of Hearts!" exclaimed the albino.

There was a split second of black and weightlessness before the group found themselves in the middle of one of the fabled, hidden kingdoms of the Fae. The buildings seemed to be carved out of the very trees, vines decorating each of the houses. It was an entire kingdom in the trees that could only be seen by those who had been allowed into the kingdom's wonder. It was unlike anything a human could ever build.

Matthew looked at the scene nostalgically before finally letting himself speak, "Welcome to the Kingdom of Spades, Lovina."


End file.
